The Washington Wizards have gotten off to a very slow start this season. Currently, the team is 2-8 and sitting at the bottom of the Eastern Conference.
Because of the move that Washington made to acquire Russell Westbrook, and the fact that Bradley Beal has made it no secret that he isn’t happy with the direction of the franchise, tensions are running high in D.C.
This week, Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer reported that head coach Scott Brooks is already on the hot seat.
“League sources say Brooks is sitting firmly on the hot seat. New coach or not, the team also just needs to be better,” he revealed.
Brooks is currently in the last season of a five-year, $35 million contract he signed with the Wizards in 2016. He came out of the gate extremely hot, leading the team to postseason appearances in back-to-back campaigns. However, he has cooled off dramatically since then – failing to make the playoffs since 2017.
Knowing Beal’s perilous status with the franchise, many hoped that Brooks would be able to leverage some of the talent on the roster and make a successful run at the playoffs. Unfortunately, nothing has worked out as planned.
Westbrook, who the Wizards gave up John Wall and a pick for, has struggled early and recently got hurt. Davis Bertans, who received a five-year, $80 million deal in the offseason, has similarly underperformed — shooting 34.8 percent from the field and 32.5 percent from beyond the arc.
Washington’s lone bright spot, young center Thomas Bryant, went down with a season-ending torn ACL injury this past weekend.
LeBron decided to hook Ohio State up before the National Title Game. https://t.co/7Ulw7NeOJz
— Game 7 (@game7__) January 10, 2021
The hits just keep coming, and Brooks appears powerless to stop them.
And while a lot of the Wizards’ struggles thus far this year can be attributed to bad luck, there have been some pretty glaring coaching issues as well. Namely on the defensive end.
Currently, Washington ranks at the bottom of the league in points allowed and opponent field goal percentage.
The Bucks owner’s daughter decided to bring 2021 in with a bang by stripping all her clothes off. https://t.co/UgzhEEna4o
— Game 7 (@game7__) January 7, 2021
At this point it feels like the writing is on the wall. It’s unlikely that the Wizards will be able to turn things around.
And if that’s the case, it’s hard to see why the organization would bother keeping Brooks.
A tsunami of change is about to hit the Wizards, and Brooks will almost certainly find himself a casualty of what’s to come.
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Jennifer Withers Hoey is a former Business Development Manager who transitioned to writing about sports. With valuable connections all over the West Coast, she has used those contacts to break some of the most interesting stories pertaining to the Portland Trail Blazers, Oregon Ducks, LA Lakers, LA Clippers, Seattle Supersonics (RIP), and more.
